Moosehead beer brewing family member was beaten to death

SAINT JOHN, New Brunswick, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Canadian businessman Richard Oland, a member of the Moosehead beer-brewing family found dead in his office in 2011, had been beaten, police revealed Wednesday.

The revelation by Saint John police Chief Bill Reid came the same day Oland's 45-year-old son Dennis was charged with second-degree murder in his father's death, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The younger Oland, who was arrested Tuesday, appeared in court briefly to be formally charged but didn't enter a plea. A hearing was set for Nov. 19 for a preliminary inquiry, the CBC said.

His family has voiced support for him despite his arrest, and several members were in court Wednesday, including his two sisters and his uncle, Derek Oland.

Reid ended a more than two-year mystery when he told reporters at a news conference Richard Oland, 69, died after sustaining "repeated blows" to his body.

He wouldn't say what investigators believe was used to inflict the blows.

Reid said investigators "did a fantastic job" and there was no pressure to make an arrest, the CBC said.

"We were in no hurry to make a mistake," he said.

The father's body was found in his uptown Saint John office July 7, 2011. Police suspect the son, a stockbroker and investment adviser, owed his father more than a half-million dollars and he was the last known person to see his father alive.

The father, who was married with three children, had left the beer company in the 1980s, and the brewery is now run by Derek Oland.

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